Flatbush Man

ma16 Sheridan Gibney (AC 1925) Papers, 1920-1992 (bulk 1922-1985) Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by . Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Amherst, MA

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarah Sorscher. 2002-07-25 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 ma16 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Sheridan Gibney (AC 1925) Papers, 1920-1992 (bulk 1922-1985) Finding Aid Processed: 1991 Finding Aid: Revised November 2001 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Gibney, Sheridan Gibney Papers 1920-1992 1922-1985 2 records storage boxes, 2 archives boxes, 1 half archives box (3.25 linear ft.) Amherst College Archives and Special Collections The bulk of the Papers consists of play scripts and dramatic treatments written by Gibney for stage and television, 1925-1980; personal and professional correspondence, 1920-1962; the manuscript of an unpublished novel, Flatbush Man, ca. 1979-1985; and various papers related to his undergraduate years at Amherst College and his receipt of an honorary degree in 1939. English. Biographical Note

Sheridan de Raismes Gibney (AC 1925), a popular playwright and screenwriter, was born in New York City on June 11, 1903. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy before entering Amherst College. After Amherst and from 1926 to 1929 he worked as an instructor at Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y. In the 1920s Gibney wrote several plays, including Sunshine, Penelope's Web, Letter to a Lover, Calico Wedding, Encore, Merry Madness, and The Wiser They Are. In the 1930s as a chief contract writer with Warner Brothers, he got his first movie credits with I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang. He collaborated on the House on West 56th Street and, with Marc Connelly, Green Pastures. His screenplay for Anthony Adverse resulted in a big hit in 1936. In that same year he won two Oscars for the original story and screenplay for The Story of Louis Pasteur. Amherst College awarded him an honorary M.A. in 1939.

With the arrival of television, Gibney wrote episodes or stories for Bachelor Father, Thriller, Fair Exchange, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Six Million Dollar Man and Police Woman. He was a charter member of the Screen Writers Guild and served as its president from 1939-1941 and 1947-1948.

In 1931 Gibney married Mildred McCoy; he was married again in 1952 to Katrin Janecke in Hollywood, California. Sheridan Gibney died on April 12, 1988.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The bulk of the Papers consists of play scripts and dramatic treatments written by Gibney for stage and television, 1925-1980; personal and professional correspondence, 1920-1962; the manuscript of an unpublished novel, Flatbush Man, ca. 1979-1985; and various papers related to his undergraduate years at Amherst College and his receipt of an honorary degree in 1939.

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into eight series:

1. Produced Plays, 1929-1979 2. Unproduced Plays, 1925-1937 3. Produced Screenplays, 1935-1946 4. Unproduced Screenplays, 1936-1980 5. Treatments, 1934, n.d. 6. Novels and Poems, 1979-1985, n.d. 7. Amherst College Papers, 1922-1938 8. Biographical Materials, 1992, n.d. Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

There is no restriction on access to the Sheridan Gibney Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items are restricted for preservation purposes.

Requests for permission to publish material from the Papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in Sheridan Gibney (AC 1925) Papers [Box #, folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library

History of the Collection Processed: 1991 Finding Aid: Revised November 2001 Search Terms Gibney, Sheridan. Dramatists, American--20th century. Screenwriters--United States. Letters--Amherst College. Lecture notes--Amherst College. Examinations--Amherst College. Amherst College. Class of 1925. Gibney. Additional Information Series 1: Produced Plays, 1929-1979 1 1 "Merry Madness," telegrams 1929 1 2 "Sunshine" 1961 1 3 "Unser Sonnenschein" ("Sunshine" in German) 1961 1 4 "Sunshine" - correspondence from Producers 1955-1956 1 5 "Sunshine" - critics reviews from Germany 1961 1 6 "Anything to Please" 1960 1 7 "Calico Wedding" 1931 1 8 "Calico Wedding" 1931 Feb 1 9 "The Chinese Paper Knife" (formerly "Letter to a Lover") 1976 1 10 "The Chinese Paper Knife" (formerly "Letter to a Lover") 1976 1 11 "The Chinese Paper Knife" correspondence 1952-1957 1 12 "The Chinese Paper Knife" correspondence with Agent 1976-1979 1 13 "Encore" n.d. 1 14 "The Islanders" 1943 1 15 "Nine Bells at Sea" [1930?] 1 16 "Penelope's Web" n.d. 1 17 "Penelope's Web" correspondence 1957-58 1 18 "Scotty Brown's Bridge" 1955 1 19 "Scotty Brown's Bridge" correspondence 1955 1 20 "The Wiser They Are" n.d. Series 2: Unproduced Plays, 1925-1937 1 21 "Dona Volga" 1925 1 22 "A Game of Billiards" n.d. 1 23 "The Harvest Moon" 1925 1 24 "The Immortal Sinner" 1930 1 25 "The Immortal Sinner" correspondence 1930 1 26 "Judgment Day" n.d. 1 27 "My Name is Claire" n.d. 1 28 Oh, Happy Love n.d. 1 29 "A Penny's Worth of Love" 1928 1 30 "The President's Daughter" 1932 1 31 "The Race of Life and Death" n.d. 1 32 "The Rainbow" 1927 1 33 "The Sentence" 1926 1 34 The Price of Beans," and "Contemplated Revisions 1937 Series 3: Produced Screenplays, 1935-1946 2 35 "Anthony Adverse" 1935 2 36 "Cheers for Miss Bishop" 1940 2 37 "Dynasty of Death" 1940 2 38 "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" n.d. 2 39 "Enemy of Man" (The Story of Louis Pasteur) 1935 2 40 "What Nancy Wanted" 1946 Series 4: Unproduced Screenplays, 1936-1980 2 41 "Danton" (Part I) 1936 2 42 "Flowers of Evil" n.d. 2 43 "Hey Diddle Diddle" n.d. 2 44 "Life Begins" 1950 2 45 "Other Voices" n.d. 2 46 "Other Voices" correspondence 1974-1980 2 47 "Possession" n.d. Series 5: Treatments, 1934, n.d. 2 48 "The Bridal Claim" n.d. 2 49 "The Gentleman from Kimberly" n.d. 2 50 "The High Cost of Living" n.d. 2 51 "Lady in the Straw" n.d. 2 52 "The Love Specialist" n.d. 2 53 "Moscow Romance" 1934 2 54 "Too Much Happiness" n.d. Series 6: Novels and Poems, 1979-1985, n.d. 3 55 Flatbush Man correspondence 1979-1985 3 56 Flatbush Man manuscript n.d. 3 57 Notebook of poems n.d. 3 58 Folder of poems n.d. 3 59 Early poems, legal sheets n.d. 3 60 Selected poems n.d. Series 7: Amherst College Papers, 1922-1938 3 61 Correspondence to his mother 1922-26 3 62 Gibney's poetry in "Amherst Writing" 1922-24 3 63 Student papers and handwritten bluebooks 1924-25 3 64 "The Theater Today," acceptance speech at Amherst College for honorary degree 1938 Series 8: Biographical Materials, 1992, n.d. 3 65 Gibney's resume ca. 1985 3 66 A Profile of Sheridan Gibney, compiled by Katrin Janecke Gibney 1992 8 4 Extra copy of Moon Songs: Selected Letters, 1920-1929, and Selected Poems from Various Periods of his Life / by Sheridan Gibney; edited by Katrin Janecke Gibney 1993 Series 9: Correspondence, 1920-1962 Originals: 3 67 Correspondence and contracts 1936-1950 3 68 Correspondence, playbill, clipping, news release 1956-1962 4 1 Phillips Exeter Academy: 13 postcards, 5 letters 1920 4 2 Erskine, John: 2 letters to Mrs. E. W. Freeman 1924 4 3 1 letter n.d. 4 4 Amherst College: 24 letters 1923-1925

[SEE ALSO SERIES 7]

4 5 Europe (mostly France): 26 letters 1924-1925 4 6 Mostly Boothbay Harbor: 7 letters [1925?]-1929 4 7 Hobart College (Geneva, N.Y.): 17 letters 1926-1929 Photocopies: 5 1 Phillips Exeter Academy: 13 postcards, 5 letters 1920 5 2 Erskine, John: 2 letters to Mrs. E. W. Freeman 1924 5 3 Amherst College: 24 letters 1923-1925

[SEE ALSO SERIES 7]

5 4 Europe (mostly France): 26 letters 1924-1925 5 5 Mostly Boothbay Harbor: 7 letters [1925?]-1929 5 6 Hobart College (Geneva, N.Y.): 17 letters 1926-1929